


i'll never want anything for christmas (as long as i'm always with you)

by FateChica



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21951703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FateChica/pseuds/FateChica
Summary: When El comes back to him after closing the gate in 1984, Mike makes a promise to himself that every Christmas with El is going to be the best one ever.And that's one promise he'll never,everbreak.- four times Mike makes sure El's Christmas is extra special.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 12
Kudos: 132





	i'll never want anything for christmas (as long as i'm always with you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freshbloom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshbloom/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, everyone! I know this isn't the next chapter of "be brave and kiss the girl", but I wanted to write a Mileven Christmas fic while we were in the season for Christmas fics. 
> 
> I wanted to dedicate this to my darling Jazz (freshbloom here on AO3). Thank you Jazz for being an amazing, beautiful, supportive friend who always makes me laugh and is just about the best person I know. Love you, boo, and hope you like this!

It doesn’t take Mike long to realize that, like a line drawn in thick, black marker across a white piece of paper, his life can be divided into two, neat categories: Before El and After El. Everything in his life changes after he meets her – _everything._

From his toys to the basement to his school… to even his mom cooking breakfast, everything _means_ something different to him after El comes into his life.

Including – and maybe _especially_ – Christmas.

Before El, Christmas was about what Mike guesses it is for every kid: time off from school, house decorated with lights and garland and ornaments, snowball fights and wet mittens and hot chocolate with little marshmallows.

And, of course, _presents_ – snooping for them, trying to guess what’s beneath the wrapping paper, boxes and gift bags piled high beneath the Christmas tree.

That all changes once he meets El, for better or for worse (but almost always _better)._

Mike’s 12th Christmas isn’t about what Atari game he hopes his parents got him or praying for some cool Star Wars action figures like it would have been in years past, if nothing had changed.

No, instead of obsessing over presents or seeing how many of his mom’s famous almond cookies he can stuff into his mouth, all Mike can think about is El.

_Is she ok? Is she safe? Is she even alive?_

And, in all these questions, Mike starts to come to the realization that he would trade every present he’s ever gotten or ever will get just to have El back in his life, to know that she is safe and warm and happy.

Later, after El’s returned _(returned to him),_ when Mike finds out about how El spent the weeks leading up to the Christmas of 1983, how she spent it out in the woods, cold and hungry and barely surviving, the way his heart twists painfully in his chest makes him gasp out loud. 

But the way El hugs him in response – arms warm and strong, head burrowing just under his jaw and against his shoulder – makes him feel like the luckiest person on the face of the planet. He realizes that _this_ – the feel of her in his arms, the way her breath tickles his neck as she lets out the softest, most beautiful sigh of contentment known to man, is the only Christmas present he ever needs.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not determined to give El the most amazing Christmas _ever._ He doesn’t know how much Hopper did for El the year before, if anything, and he really doesn’t want to waste the energy asking when he could be channeling that into focusing on El. So Mike decides to pretend like this is El’s first Christmas so he can make sure she gets to experience _everything._

And he makes a promise to himself that _every_ Christmas with her is going to be the best one ever.

Especially because, after everything she’s been through, it’s the least of what she deserves.

_Always._

* * *

  
_Christmas 1984_

El’s not entirely sure _what_ this Christmas thing is all about. She starts living with Hopper in time to catch the last of the Christmas specials and commercials the year she escapes the lab, but she has absolutely _no_ idea what to make of it. 

But El knows enough to guess that it’s something really important, something that people are just supposed to know… or, at least, that’s the impression she gets from the way Hopper pauses before trying to answer her questions about Christmas when it comes up on the TV. She feels bad asking Hopper about it whenever a question comes up, especially because she hates the sad tone in his voice when he explains some new piece about Christmas and the holidays.

It makes her feel stupid and El finds that, like she feels about a lot of the other things normal kids are “supposed to know” that she doesn’t, she comes to resent Christmas a little bit. It’s just one part of a giant pile of things she’s “supposed to know” that she never learned while she was kept in the lab and it makes her so angry that she’ll never be normal, that she’s always going to feel like she’s behind because of something that’s not at all her fault.

But El learns to cope. It helps when Christmas passes and the stark reminders of this Big Thing she doesn’t know become just a memory. El busies herself with tackling the rest of that pile of things she doesn’t know. The seasons change while she learns things like arithmetic and reading from chapter books. She fills her free time with watching TV and movies with Hop and checking in on Mike in the Void every evening, listening to him count the days it’s been since they last saw each other.

And El totally forgets about Christmas.

If things had been more normal (or what passes for her version of normal at any rate), she would have realized Christmas was coming a lot sooner than she actually does. To be fair, though, _a lot_ happens in the last couple months of the year. She sneaks out to find Mike, ends up finding her mother _and_ a sister, and reunites with Mike and her friends before closing the gate once and for all. 

In the month that follows, there’s so much going on that it’s totally understandable El would continue to forget about Christmas. The first is that with being reunited with her friends comes the promise from Hop of maybe being able to attend school the next fall. And, though the thought of school with so many people makes her stomach quiver with nerves, just the idea of being with her friends every day (like a _normal girl)_ more than makes up for it. So El throws herself into her studies, trying as best she can to learn everything she can to go to school in September. 

And the second thing that occupies her, crowding out nearly everything else, is _Mike._ Now that he knows she’s here, there’s nothing that can keep him from visiting her and El’s never been happier. Mike is over at the cabin nearly every day it feels like, coming over after school on the weekdays and all day on the weekend as often as possible. 

It’s during one of these visits – just after Thanksgiving, which El just learned about – where the topic of Christmas finally comes back into El’s life.

It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving to be specific. Hopper’s out working a rare weekend shift, so it’s just Mike and El at the cabin, the two of them sitting on the couch. They’re snuggled up like they’re going to watch TV, but the screen is dark. Instead, the two of them are talking, taking advantage of Hopper’s absence to have long, drawn-out conversations where they can be as silly and lovesick (a word El learned only a couple of weeks ago but one she loves with all her heart) as they want. 

Mike’s warm where she’s pressed up against him – her hip against his, the length of their thighs parallel where they’re sitting on the couch, her cheek resting against his shoulder, his arm slung over hers. Occasionally, they’ll look over at each other with long, lingering gazes and, especially during more heart-felt moments, one of them (or, more often than not, _both_ of them) will sometimes lean in with a soft kiss. Their kisses are no more than gentle pecks on the lips (at least, they’re _nothing_ like the kisses she watches on her soaps), but it still makes El feel all tingly and breathless each time, leaving her stomach swooping and heart racing.

Right now, though, they’re just cuddled on the couch, her head pillowed on his shoulder with his arm wrapped around her as she listens to him talk. Though El loves how Mike is always asking about her - giving her space to answer and to talk, always eager to hear what she has to say - there’s just something about the sound of his voice that calms her, makes her feel safe and warm. It reminds her of the evenings she spent locked up in the cabin, listening in as Mike called out to her, his words soft and soothing, if sometimes desperately sad.

Only Mike’s not anywhere near sad as he talks to her this afternoon. His words are low and gentle, but humming in excitement and El just lets them wash over her, not listening to the words so much as listening to the rise and fall of his voice.

El’s eyes drift shut, lulled by the gentle warmth and happiness that surrounds her, and she’s only aware that Mike’s asking her a question when he jostles her head lightly with his shoulder. “...El? Did you hear what I said?”

El lifts her head, lashes fluttering as her eyes blink open. “Hmm?” she murmurs, light and airy, and turns to look over at Mike. 

For a second, Mike just stares at her. His lips are parted like he was about to speak but froze partway through. And he’s looking at her with confusion and a little bit of awe, just enough to make her breath catch in her throat when she breathes in. “Are you feeling ok?” Mike asks. He bites down on his lip briefly before his tongue flashes out to wet it. “If you’re not, I can go home, let you get better.”

It’s a fair question. After closing the gate, El spent most of the following week in bed – “recuperating”, as Hop put it. And she still gets tired more easily than she'd like. But that’s not what’s going on and she hurries to reassure Mike, to keep him right where he is. “No, no, I’m fine. I was listening to your voice; it’s nice.” The words are the truth and, though saying them out loud makes her face feel all hot, it never occurs to her to be embarrassed by the admission. Why would she? After all, it’s true and there’s nothing wrong with what she likes. 

Mike blushes too, but El thinks it has more to do with the surprise that sparks in his gaze, not the overwhelming feelings she has for him. “Oh, um, you do?”

El nods, smiling. “Yes, I like listening to you talk. It makes me happy.” She tilts her head to one side, looking at him curiously. “But you asked me something?”

“Oh, right!” Mike shakes his head, like he’s trying to shake something loose. “I was just asking if you knew what you and Hopper were going to do for Christmas this year. We always have family come and visit and my mom decorates the whole house and there’s cookies and hot chocolate and Christmas movies….”

Mike’s so excited, El can practically _feel_ it and she bites her lip, nervous, as her heart sinks a bit at the word _Christmas._ “Oh, you… like Christmas?” El tries not to frown, but her lips are pinched like she’s about to lose that fight. 

Mike blinks as he focuses back on the present, brows coming together above his eyes. “Don’t you?”

At Mike’s question, El’s heart falls into her stomach. Mike already sounds disappointed and she hasn’t even answered his question yet. El almost doesn’t want to answer, not wanting to disappoint him, but she knows he won’t let it go if she doesn’t answer. 

So El shrugs and folds in on herself a little. Compared to earlier, _this_ is something she’s embarrassed about, having to openly acknowledge the fact that she’s not normal when all she wants is to be exactly that. “I don’t know,” she says, fighting to get the words out. “Didn’t do Christmas last year – not enough time – and in the lab….” El lets herself trail off. She doesn’t need to say it. She may not have given Mike all the details, but one of the things they’ve talked about in the past few weeks is some of what she experienced growing up in Hawkins Lab.

“Oh,” Mike says, quiet and sad, expression falling into something that’s too painful for El to look at. Her gaze drops to where her fingers are tangling in her lap, one thumbnail picking at the skin of one of her other nails, and she swallows heavily. Her eyes begin to burn and shame twists heavy in her stomach. 

But, before she can fall too deep into the feelings that threaten to take over her, Mike’s hand shoots out into view, fingers wrapping around her joined hands. El looks up with wide eyes and a gasp sticks in her throat at what she sees. Mike’s looking at her with the most determined look she’s ever seen, eyes sparkling with the brilliance she’s come to associate with him. “Well, we’ll just have to make this the _best_ first Christmas ever, then, won’t we?”

El smiles at him, heart fluttering dangerously beneath her ribcage, and even though she doesn’t have the words for it right now, she _loves_ him for being like this, for trying so hard to always make her happy. She doesn’t know how she got so lucky to have Mike Wheeler in her life and, even though she’s still not entirely sure about this whole Christmas thing, for him, she’ll _try._ “Ok,” she says in response, nodding, with a heart fueled by the tiniest spark of hope that lights in her chest, and the way Mike smiles at her makes it all worth it.

The next few weeks go by like a whirlwind. Mike asks her to go to the Snowball with him and she agonizes over if Hop’s going to let her go and she, again, almost completely forgets about Christmas, including Mike’s promise to her. So it catches her by surprise when Mike shows up at the cabin a few days after the Snowball with a pile of stuff. 

School’s out for Winter Break, so it’s still early in the day when someone knocks on the front door. Hopper’s no longer requiring anyone to give the code, but El taught it to Mike as a way to know it’s _him_ who’s knocking and her heart leaps into her throat when she hears the sound. Hopper’s out at work for the day and the sudden thought of spending the whole day with Mike, just the two of them, makes her feel lighter than air.

El races to the door, Mike’s name on her lips as she opens it to reveal him standing on the porch. He’s bundled against the cold, December air – hat, thick jacket, mittens – shoulders lightly dusted with the snow that’s just started falling. El shivers at the sight and goes to greet him….

Only to pause when she sees the bags of stuff at Mike’s feet, eyes widening at the small tree he’s holding by his side, arm disappearing into the 3-foot tall tree to hold it by the trunk. “Mike?” El asks, his name filled with all the questions bubbling inside of her.

Mike gives her a sheepish smile and his cheeks are pink from a combination of the cold and a little bit of embarrassment. “Hi!” he says, bouncing on his toes with too much energy. “So, um, I remember you saying that you’ve never done Christmas before. And since you and Hopper haven’t done anything yet _and_ I won’t be able to come and visit on Christmas since my grandparents are coming over, I thought I’d bring Christmas to you so we can spend it together.” He shrugs, small smile growing brighter. “You know, to make your first real Christmas a good one.”

El’s mouth falls open and, for just a second, she’s not sure what to say. Where to start? “I, uh… how did…?” El trails off with a waved hand in the direction of all the things piled at Mike’s feet.

“Oh, you mean all this?” Mike asks. His smile is a full-on grin by this point and he’s starting to look proud at what he’s managed to do. “Nancy and Jonathan helped me carry it up to the porch. And we all chipped into buy everything. Even Steve helped – he paid for the tree.” Mike’s smile softens and his gaze fills with what El can only describe as tenderness. “Christmas is special, you know? And I wanted to give you the chance to see how special.”

El thinks that the only thing keeping her from melting entirely is the cold winter air coming in through the front door. But that doesn’t stop her heart from doing this wobbly thing in her chest, breath getting stuck in her throat from the feeling. How Mike manages to always make her feel so special and cared for, she doesn’t know. “Thank you,” she says in a voice thick with emotion. In an instant, El feels her opinion about Christmas beginning to change. After all, if it makes Mike go to to all this trouble, it can’t be too bad, can it?

“So, you like it?” Mike asks. There’s that hint of nervousness El loves so much, the one that tells her how much he cares about making her happy.

“I love it,” El says, happiness bubbling out of her in the form of a giggle. “So, what do we do first?” she asks, glancing again at all the stuff Mike brought with him.

“Well, help me bring it all inside, first,” Mike says with a pleased chuckle. “And then we’ll unpack and see what sounds like the most fun.”

Together, the two of them get everything inside in a couple of trips and Mike leans the tree up against the closed front door so they can sort through the rest. El’s not entirely sure what everything is at first, but Mike gives explanations for the things El doesn’t know and it’s not long until the coffee table and couch are covered with string lights and ornaments and garland and all sorts of other Christmas decorations. 

Mike also pulls out a tupperware container filled with sugar cookies covered in colorful sprinkles and sets them on the only empty spot on the coffee table. “Here, I also snuck these from my mom – she doesn’t know, but she made a ton, so I don’t think she’ll notice,” Mike says as he tucks the rest of the bag he pulled the cookies from behind him.

But El can tell there’s still stuff in that bag and she tries to peek behind him. “What else is in there?” she asks.

“Oh, um, that can wait until we get everything else set up,” Mike says as his cheeks heat up. “Please?”

El only relents because he asked – even though she feels frustration tugging at the ends of her patience – and she does her best to ignore the deep-seated desire to find out _what’s in the bag._ “Ok, now what?” she asks.

The smile comes back on to Mike’s face and he looks at her with an excited look in his eyes. “Now, we decorate! Where do you wanna start?”

El looks around the cabin, completely lacking in festive atmosphere, and wonders where to start. Hop hasn’t mentioned much of anything about Christmas and El hasn’t exactly been eager to ask. For all that she’s been living with him for a year, there’s still a lot they’re learning about each other. Christmas and what they’re going to do, if anything, hasn’t come up yet, so the cabin is still completely undecorated, even though El knows from the TV shows she likes that people _do_ decorate their houses for the holiday.

But, for the moment, what this really means for her is that El doesn’t know where to start and the momentary indecision sparks a tiny wave of panic inside of her. 

But then her gaze lands on the tree leaning against the front door and the anxiety passes. “How about that?” she asks, pointing.

Mike turns and El can see his smile in profile as he looks back at the tree. “Good choice,” he says as he looks back at her. “Now, the first thing to figure out is, where it goes….”

The next few hours go by in a happy blur. Mike and El end up deciding on the corner of her bedroom for where the tree should go before adorning it with lights and ornaments, making her whole room shine with soft twinkling lights, the air filled with the gentle scent of pine. They then move out to the main living spaces, El guiding Mike to take a more cautious approach when it comes to putting up decorations. She can get away with decorating her own room however she wants, but she’s not sure about how Hop will feel about it spilling out into the living room.

Still, there’s garland pinned up along the mantle above a couple of stockings and string lights around the windows in the kitchen and El thinks she’s finally understanding what people mean on TV when they talk about “feeling the Christmas spirit.” It’s hard not to feel a little bit of the magic that comes from twinkling lights and sparkling decorations and the way it softens El’s heart makes her feel all warm and gooey inside.

“So, what do you think?” Mike asks, pulling El’s attention over to him where he’s standing in the middle of the living room, watching her intently, waiting for her reaction.

“It’s beautiful,” El says, unable to speak in no higher than a breathless murmur. A shaky smile makes its way onto her lips as she walks over to Mike, stepping around the empty bags littering the floor around the couch. “Thank you,” she says before she reaches for him, pushing up onto her toes so she can kiss him. It’s a kiss much like the one at the Snowball, soft and warm and all-encompassing, only she’s kissing him this time. But Mike leans into it, even as he sucks in a sudden breath, and El’s heart does flips in her chest as he kisses her back, lips soft but firm against hers. Kissing Mike always feels a little like _flying_ and El can never get enough of it, even if it’s always just a little too much for her to handle.

The kiss comes to a slow end and El lowers herself back down onto her heels. She looks up at Mike and has to hold back a giggle at the dazed look on his face – he’s just so cute, so _pretty,_ it makes her want to hold him close to her forever. “So, um,” Mike says after a moment, pausing to clear his throat. “I do have one more thing for you.”

Memory comes rushing back in as El remembers the bag that still has stuff in it and she eagerly lets Mike take her hand and lead her over to the couch so they can sit down. “Oh, wait, here,” Mike says before he reaches for the tupperware full of cookies, fingers curling around the lip off the lid to pull it open. “You haven’t tried one yet. They’re, like, really good. My mom is the best cook ever.”

Smiling, El reaches in and grabs a cookie covered in red and green sprinkles. She pauses, glancing over at Mike to see him eagerly watching her again, before bringing it to her lips to take a bite. The taste of butter and sugar melt on her tongue and she looks at Mike with wide eyes as she chews on the cookie. “It’s good!”

Mike chuckles and grabs a cookie of his own before closing the container. “See? Told you.” With a cookie held firmly in one hand, Mike reaches for the last bag that still has stuff in it. El’s excitement kicks it up a notch and she finds herself leaning towards Mike, eyes wide and eager. 

Mike sets the bag down on his lap and glances up over at her, tongue flashing out to lick his lips, a clear sign of nervousness. “Ok, just, before we do this, I just want you to know that there’s more than just this. I just… wanted to give you this first.” Mike reaches into the bag and pulls out a small, wrapped object with an envelope taped to it. “Here, this is for you.”

For just a second, El stares at the object in Mike’s hand, breath catching in her throat. She reaches to take it as Mike holds it out to her and her fingers tremble as she grasps onto it. Mike’s given her things over the past couple of weeks – things of his he wants her to have, like Roary and other sentimental items that mean a lot to just the two of them. But _this,_ this is a present, an honest-to-god wrapped present.

The first present she’s ever gotten.

El’s eyes burn with the beginnings of unshed tears and she doesn’t know what to say. She looks down at the present in her hands and tries to think of some way to express the complex storm of emotions swirling inside of her – touched at his thoughtfulness, sad that she doesn’t have anything for him, bittersweet at how she’s waited so long to experience this kind of moment.

“El, what is it? You ok?” It’s like Mike just _knows,_ like he always does, when something is bothering her.

El looks up and nods, blinking away the tears in her eyes. “Yeah, I’m ok. I don’t have a present for you, though.”

Mike shrugs, smiling softly at her. “You don’t need to get me anything,” he says. “Just the fact that you’re here is enough.” The admission leaves him easily and El envies how he always has the words for what he wants to say. “So, are you going to open it? And, um, don’t worry about it not being Christmas yet. This isn’t the only present you’re getting.”

At that, El looks at Mike with wide eyes, heart feeling too full. “It’s not?”

“Nope,” Mike says. His lips curl up with a secretive smile, gaze twinkling. “But you’ll have to wait to find out until Christmas.”

El wrinkles her nose and tries not to pout. “I don’t think I like that.”

“Well, too bad,” Mike says, grinning. “That’s the whole point of presents.”

“Fine, if you say so,” El says with a huff, fighting a smile of her own. It’s especially hard when Mike looks at her with surprised amusement. It’s a look El understands – despite the length of their connection, they’re still getting to know who each other is as people and it’s one of El’s favorite things, discovering Mike’s quirks and letting him discover hers. 

Mike breathes out a laugh and gestures to the present in El’s hands. “So, you gonna open it?” he asks, both eager and nervous at the same time. 

El nods and looks down at the present in her hands. It’s a little larger than her palm, wrapped in dark red paper, and the envelope taped to it is about twice the size of the wrapped present. Gingerly, El pulls the envelope off the present, the tape tearing at the paper a little as it comes off with the envelope. She looks back and forth between the envelope in one hand and the present in the other before glancing up at Mike, brow furrowed just so.

Mike is able to read the question in her eyes and he nods, smiling. “Open the present first, then the card.”

El smiles at him before she focuses back on the present, setting the card down on the couch next to her. She’s never done this before and she wants to savor it, so El takes her time in unwrapping the small present, thumbnail carefully sliding under where the ends of the paper have been folded over and taped up, heart in her throat the entire time.

The paper falls away to reveal a cassette tape in a clear plastic case and El turns it over until she sees the handwritten label along the spine: _El’s Mix Tape._ Still confused, if also touched, El looks up. “Mike?”

“It’s a mix tape…but, you know that since you just read the label, and all,” Mike says, stuttering a bit. “I, um, I made it for you.” He gestures to the card sitting next to her in the unopened envelope. “Here, read the card. That’ll, uh, explain it.”

“Ok,” El says, a smile starting to reform on her face. _Mike **made** me something, _ she thinks with a soft giggle, heart full almost to the point of bursting. Her fingers are still trembling a little as she opens the envelope, mostly from excitement, and it takes her a bit to work the card out of the envelope.

For a second, El just looks at the card. On the front is an adorable cartoon dog wearing a Santa hat with the words “Merry Christmas!” written above. “So cute!” El says, almost without thinking, voice just above a whisper. She can feel Mike’s eyes on her as she opens the card, eager to see her reaction, but El doesn’t want to rush this and she takes her time reading the note inside, written in Mike’s slanted handwriting.

 _“Dear El,”_ it reads. _“I wanted to make this Christmas a really special one since it’s our first Christmas together. So I made you a mix tape of all the songs that remind me of you. I hope you like it and I hope we get a chance to listen to it together. Merry Christmas, El. Always, Mike.”_

El’s heart is solidly in her throat now, pounding so fast it feels like she might faint. She knows enough to know that people usually end letters to their boyfriend or girlfriend with the word “love.” But the word _always_ sticks in her thoughts and makes her feel all giddy and floaty. And it’s true, she knows this. She and Mike are for _always_ – everything else will come when it’s time. 

She looks back up at Mike just as he starts speaking. “So, do you like – ?” Mike doesn’t get to finish his question before El leans in to give him a sudden kiss, the press of her lips to his the only outlet for all these _feelings_ inside of her. Mike gasps against her mouth, but he kisses her back easily enough, one hand coming up to cup her cheek, his palm warm and trembling against her skin. 

El pulls back just enough when the kiss ends so she can look him in the eye. “Thank you,” she says, unable to speak any higher than a whisper. “I love it.”

Mike smiles at her, faint and awe in equal measure. “Anything for you,” he says. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” El reaches for Mike, taking his hand in hers. “Merry Christmas, Mike.”

“Merry Christmas, El.”

Yeah, El thinks that maybe she can come to love Christmas. 

But there’s no way she can predict, right at this moment, just how much Christmas is going to mean to her and Mike over the rest of their lives. 

* * *

  
_Christmas 1985_

Around 1 in the morning on December 23rd, two days before Christmas, Mike wakes up alone.

Which is only notable because he didn’t fall asleep that way.

It’s been a full house at the Wheeler household these past couple of days with El and the Byers’ staying over for Christmas. Mrs. Byers will be joining them tomorrow, but Jonathan drove himself, Will and El up a couple of days ago to spend as much time as possible back with their friends back in Hawkins. 

Which pretty much means that Mike has spent pretty much every waking moment with El… and most of the sleeping ones too. In theory, Mike is supposed to be sleeping down in the basement with Will and Jonathan while El sleeps in his room. 

But, after his parents go to sleep, for the past couple of nights, Mike’s been sneaking back up to his room to be with El. Mike doesn’t feel bad about it since he knows for a fact that Nancy’s dragging Jonathan up to her room each night. And though Mike knows his mom probably wouldn’t approve, it’s not like he and El are doing anything other than sleeping.

…Ok, so there’s a little bit _(a lot)_ of kissing, but that’s about as far as it goes. Mike just loves being with El – loves talking to her face-to-face, loves holding her close, loves being able to kiss her whenever he wants. He _hates_ that she has to go back home after New Year’s, but he’s going to damn well make sure that he gets to spend as much time with her while he can.

Which is why it’s a little annoying to wake up and find that El’s gone, especially after how happy he was to fall asleep holding her.

Mike reaches out and feels the spot where El was only to find it cool, her warmth long since gone. So, wherever she’s gone, she’s been away for a while. Confusion and alarm bleed through the fog of sleepiness that still clings to the edges of his mind and Mike frowns as he slides out of bed. 

Quietly, Mike makes his way through the house, bare feet lightly padding against the carpet. The house is dark except for the faint night lights his mom has plugged in every so often so no one trips in the middle of the night, so it’s easy for him to find his way. 

The bathroom upstairs is empty and Mike can’t think of a reason why El would go in any of the other rooms, so he heads downstairs. Mike finds her not much longer later when he pokes his head into the living room, the room gently lit with the lights from the Christmas tree.

El’s sitting on the floor in front of the Christmas tree, her back facing him, but Mike can see how she’s sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them to hug them close. She’s still wearing her PJs, but has added on one of his sweaters that she must have stolen before coming down here, a dark forest green one that he wore only a couple of days ago. Mike can’t pretend that he doesn’t like how good El looks wearing his clothes, her hair brushing the tops of her shoulders and looking so pretty against the dark color of the sweater.

“Hey,” Mike calls out softly, trying not to alarm her as he heads towards her. He fails, given how El startles, but she only turns to look at him over her shoulder as he approaches.

“Hi,” she says, voice hushed as he comes to sit down behind her, legs stretching out on either side of her, arms wrapping around her waist to pull her towards him. El goes easily and something deep inside of him unwinds at the feel of her in his arms.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mike says the words into El’s hair as he presses a soft kiss against the side of her head, giving him a chance to breathe in the lingering hints of her shampoo. 

El sighs and leans back even further against him. “Woke up an hour ago, but I couldn’t fall asleep again,” she says as her hands come down to slip them under the cuffs of the long sleeved sleep shirt he’s wearing, her fingers thrillingly cool against his skin.

“You ok? What’s wrong?” Mike asks as he rests the side of his head against hers, relishing in the closeness. He can hear the sad undertones in her voice, though, and his heart twists.

“I miss it here,” El says. The soft sound of her voice, airy and high pitched, burrows into his skin, making him feel all gooey inside. 

But, a moment later, Mike registers the meaning of El’s words and he sighs, breath fanning out along the skin of her cheek. El gives an involuntary shiver and Mike just holds her closer. “I know what you mean,” he says, voice rough with both sleep _and_ emotion. It’s been really hard since after everything that happened over the summer, after the Mind Flayer and Hopper dying and El moving away. Yeah, sure, they talk as often as they can and write each other letters, but it’s not the same, not like when he saw her every day and his heart _aches_ at the memory, loss keenly felt.

“And Terre Haute’s nice, but it’s not _home_ – not like Hawkins.” El pauses, turning in his embrace so she can look at him, shoulder pressed into his chest, legs curled up between his. One of Mike’s hands comes up automatically to brush the hair away from her face so he can look at her properly. The lights of the Christmas tree sparkle against her skin and, for a second, he almost can’t breathe. El’s just _so beautiful,_ it robs him of his ability to function properly. “I just wanna be with you.”

Mike smiles, heart breaking. “I know, I wanna be with you, too,” he says, touch lingering against the skin of her cheek. “Maybe we can ask about seeing each other for Valentine’s Day – you know Jonathan’s probably going to want to do something for Nancy – maybe you two can come back for that.”

El shrugs, nodding a little. “Yeah, I guess,” she says, sighing. “But it’s not enough. I don’t want to leave you.”

“And I don’t want you to leave,” Mike says, barely breathing the words, as he leans forward, forehead resting against hers. “But it won’t be forever. In a few years, we’ll be 18. We can go off to college – or I can go off to college, you don’t have to, but you can come with me and we can be together whenever we want, for as long as we want.” It’s been a recurring dream of his, since El moved away: going off to college – _anywhere,_ as long as El can come with him – moving in together, being with her everyday… it’s all Mike wants, now. Just _her._

El smiles at him, hope starting to crowd out the sadness in her eyes, gaze shining under the twinkling lights. “How about for always?”

God, it’s entirely possible that Mike’s completely forgotten how to breathe _permanently._ His lips stretch up in an uncontrollable smile. “Always, huh? I think we can make that work.”

“Good,” El says before she lets out a giggle that makes his heart feel like it’s going to explode. “Thank you,” she says on the tail end of her giggle.

Mike’s brow furrows, juxtaposed with the lovesick smile still on his face, and he cocks his head as he looks over at her. “For what?”

El’s gaze dances across his face and something akin to awe passes over her expression. “You always know what to get me for Christmas.” Mike must still be broadcasting his confusion, because El explains. “Telling me you want us to be together once we’re adults, always.”

Mike lets out a breathless laugh, shaking his head slightly. “That’s not your Christmas present,” he says, thinking of the tiny wrapped jewelry box with the necklace he’s spent weeks saving up for. “That’s just the truth – besides, it’s as much for me as it is for you.”

El rests a hand on his chest, smiling up at him with that adorable smile of hers. “Hmm, true, I guess. Still, you always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“Yeah, well….” Mike says, shrugging. He can feel his cheeks heating up, overwhelmed at the words that leap to the tip of his tongue. “I love you.” It’s been months and he can _still_ barely get the words out without tripping over them. He just feels them _so strongly_ – he loves her with every fiber of his being and he always will, he knows it.

“I love you, too,” El says, just loud enough for him to hear, before she leans towards him, hand sliding up to cup the side of his neck. Mike leans in, lips meeting hers in a kiss that has him sighing, and he holds her even tighter, curling his arms and legs around her to keep her close. 

If only he could always keep her this close, surround himself with her so there’s no telling where he ends and she begins. He _hates_ the bittersweet edge to their kisses, flavored with the knowledge that they’re going to be separated in a matter of days, for who knows how long.

But, even still, there’s a kind of magic sitting here, kissing under the lights of the Christmas tree, the air around them filled with the gentle scent of pine, in the quiet of the night – just the two of them with no one to bother, where they can just _be._

One day, nothing will be able to stop them from being together. One day, Mike won’t have to say goodbye, won’t have to long for her from a distance, won’t have to go a day without seeing El’s beautiful face.

That day is not today, but, for the moment, there’s him and her and the magic of Christmas, hearts surrounded by the promise of _always._

Just like it should be.

* * *

  
_Christmas 1987_

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway is just about the most alarming sound Mike’s ever heard. He freezes, hands in the middle of something _very_ important and his gaze whirls around to look at El’s bedroom door.

Her _open_ bedroom door.

_Shit._

Heart his in his throat, Mike turns to look at his partner-in-crime. “Will, I thought you told Max not to have her home until 3,” he hisses before he resumes what he was doing; god, he _has_ to hurry up and finish this.

“I did!” Will fires back, just as quiet. He briefly checks his watch. “It’s just that it’s a few minutes after 3.”

“Fuck,” Mike says through clenched teeth. “Well, we’re not finished in here yet.”

“Well, sorry, but if _someone,_ who shall remain nameless, had been here when he _said_ he was going to be here, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Will says.

“I just wanted to make sure we had enough supplies. This _has_ to be perfect.” Mike pauses, looking around the room and what still needs to be done. “Look, just, I don’t know, _stall_ her, ok? I only need a couple of minutes to finish this up.”

Will gives him a flat look, one eyebrow just barely arched. “Ok, fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

“And close the door!” Mike yells in a whisper, sharp and hissing. Will shoots him a glare, but does as Mike asks, leaving him alone in El’s room behind the closed door.

Mike can’t help but take a look around the room as he finishes up, brain racing, thoughts going a mile a minute. It’s been almost a year since the craziness of _last_ Christmas – finding out Hopper was still alive, figuring out a way to get him back, actually succeeding while dodging both the Russians _and_ crazy supernatural forces and finally pitting the two against each other to make their escape.

Somehow, Hopper managed to convince Mrs. Byers to move back with him to Hawkins, bringing El and Will back with them. Mike knows it hasn’t been an easy process – Hopper needing to get “undeclared” dead, getting his job back, him and Mrs. Byers settling not only back in Hawkins, but in the same house (Mike’s still not entirely sure how _that_ all worked out, but El’s happy with it and that’s good enough for him).

But the important thing is that El’s _back home._ He gets to go to school with her and see her every day and be with her whenever he wants and not have to worry about the distance because now it’s only a 10 minute drive to her house (and if you don’t think he daily praises the fact that he has his driver’s license for exactly this purpose, you are _sorely_ mistaken).

And, since this is her first Christmas back in Hawkins, Mike wants to make it a special one. He knows El loves Christmas decorations – the tree, lights, the whole bit. He’s seen the look in her eyes when she sees a house adorned in lights, heard her sigh at the soft magic of holiday decorations. So, given all that, Mike’s decided that the best way to welcome El back to Christmas in Hawkins (despite the fact that she’s been back in Hawkins for months) is to deck out her room in Christmas decorations.

There’s a fake, miniature Christmas tree on El’s desk, garland wrapped around her headboard, hand-cut paper snowflakes taped on her walls and furniture. And, the piece de resistance, the soft white Christmas lights that border the edges of El’s room, tacked up along the edges where the wall meets the ceiling. 

This is the last thing that Mike’s finishing up, getting the lights up along the walls. His hands are trembling as he finishes pinning up the last of the lights. Part of it’s the excitement of seeing El’s reaction to what he’s done – he just _knows_ she’s gonna love it. 

But the other part is the small jewelry box tucked away in the pocket of his jeans, with the promise ring nestled inside that he’s been saving up for over the past year. It’s not much – a simple silver ring with an amethyst placed delicately in the setting – but he knows, _hopes_ El’s going to love it. 

It’s not an engagement ring, though – not yet. But they’ve been talking a lot about the future, _their_ future – what happens once they graduate high school, where they want to go, how they want to live, the kind of life they want to have together. Mike knows it’s not exactly normal for a 17 year old to be thinking about settling down with someone for the rest of his life, but he knows for a fact that it’s the kind of thing he wants to be thinking about with El.

Off in the distance, Mike can hear the low murmur of voices through the door to El’s room: El, Will, and Max’s voices. Part of his plan for getting El out of the house long enough involved Max taking El out for a few hours while he and Will worked in her room and Mike is grateful that both Max and Will were ok with being willing accomplices because it’s made his life so much easier. 

Mike wraps up the finishing touches with moments to spare – giving him precious seconds to take one final glance around the room, checking to make sure everything’s perfect – before he stands and waits. He feels awkward as he just stands there, but he stands tall regardless, feeling every inch of his 6’1” height, hands fidgeting from his restlessness. 

If feels like forever, but is probably only a couple of minutes, before the door opens, revealing El on the other side. Will and Max are nowhere to be seen, but Mike doesn’t think he would have noticed them even if they _were_ there. No, he’s too busy staring at El, overwhelmed by her and somehow caught off guard by this fact like he always is. It’s like every time he sees her after time spent apart feels a little bit like the first time, all wonder and awed at her sheer presence, shocked at the sight of her.

Mike’s heart races at the sight of her like it always does. But he figures it’s ok because El’s just so goddamn beautiful. Today, she’s wearing a loose cream sweater dress, with a wide neckline and full sleeves and a wide black belt cinched around her waist, over a pair of black leggings, her new favorite ankle boots on her feet. Her hair is draped over one shoulder, ends curling a couple of inches beneath her collarbone, locks lush and rich, making his fingers itch to run through them.

But what’s truly captivating him is the look on her face, the wonder as she looks around her room. The shopping bags in her hand fall by her feet as she steps towards him, slowly turning to drink it all in, and she only looks at him when she turns back around. “Mike?” she asks, voice airy and high-pitched, almost breathless. The sound of it sends shivers down his spine.

“Do you like it?” Mike asks, gaze dancing over her features. He can’t decide what he wants to look at – the way her hair sparkles beneath the twinking lights, the warm hue of her skin heating up further with a delicate blush, the shape of her mouth as it parts in surprise – so he tries to look at _all_ of it, all at once. He doesn’t succeed, but, damn, he wants to die trying.

“What is this?” El asks. The look in her eyes is part curiosity, part pleased surprise and Mike loves that he can still make her feel like this, that he can still bring this kind of wonder and magic into her life. It feels only fair, since she does the same for him every day that she's with him.

“Wanted to make your first Christmas back in Hawkins extra Christmas-y.”

El arches an eyebrow. “Mike, that’s not a word.”

“What are you, the word police?” Mike asks, snickering.

El rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling anyway. “You nerd.”

“And yet, you love me anyway,” Mike says as he reaches for her, fingers wrapping around the curve of her hips to pull her close. “So, do you like it?”

“I love it, thank you.” El punctuates her point by pulling him down towards her, pushing herself up onto her toes so she can kiss him. The kiss is light, a mere brushing of her lips against his, but it lingers in a way that sets him on fire and Mike tries to lean back into it, but El pulls just far enough away when he does.

“Hey, that’s not much of a thank you kiss,” Mike murmurs. He tries to tamp down the grin that threatens to take over his face, but it’s a losing battle and he can feel the corners of his mouth curl up.

“Why don’t you show me how to do it, then?” El teases. She’s smiling up at him, mischief twinkling in her eyes, and Mike’s heart feels full to the point of bursting.

“Oh, is that how you wanna play it?” he asks. “I’ll show you.” His hands, still on her hips, are perfectly positioned to launch a tickle attack, fingers dancing along El’s waist and stomach without warning. El shrieks with laughter and tries to twist away, but Mike follows her easily, only stopping when El shoves him away. He overbalances, thrown off kilter, and falls back onto the bed behind him with an “oof!”, laughter bubbling out of him. 

The mattress dips next to him and Mike looks over to see El crawling onto the bed on her knees, weight coming down to rest on one hip as she looks at him with smug amusement. “That’s what you get for tickling me,” she says, lips curled in a coy smile, happy and carefree and he swears she’s never looked more beautiful _(he always thinks this and, despite knowing it’s not possible, somehow it’s always true; or maybe it’s just he falls more and more in love with her every time he sees her)._

“Ok, maybe that’s fair,” Mike says, staring up at her. He finds himself reaching for her, drawn to the vision above him. El’s looking down at him, weight propped up on one hand. Her hair’s fallen completely over one shoulder, framing her face like a soft, honeyed cloud. His fingers gently entangle with one of the locks before he slowly tucks her hair behind her ear. “But you still owe me a better kiss.”

El’s expression softens as she looks at him, smile turning dreamy in a way that makes his heart go all fluttery. “Hmm, true. After all, you _did_ make my room all Christmas-y,” she says as she starts to lean in. 

Mike lets his hand slide fully into her hair, palm cupping the back of her head. “Thought that wasn’t a word.”

“I’ll let you have it,” is what El manages to get out in the moment right before their lips meet in a rich, full kiss. Pleasure zips down his spine at the feel of her mouth pressed against his and his heart skips a beat, hiccuping in his chest.

Mike tugs in her, pulling her into him, intoxicated by her proximity. El goes willingly and Mike’s other arm wraps around her to hold her close as she lays draped over him, hands braced on his chest.

Mike feels drunk, honest-to-god drunk, and all without a drop of alcohol. El’s addicting and being with her like this makes him feel freer that he ever could have imagined possible. He loves her with every fiber of his being and he never, _ever_ wants to stop. 

Mike’s not sure how long they stay there like that, trading slow deep kisses that set off smoldering fires deep in his veins and he knows he could stay like this forever. The box with the promise ring sits heavy in his pocket, but Mike’s in no hurry to give it to her right this moment. There’ll be time for that over the days between now and Christmas. Besides, they’ve already promised themselves to each other – in the words that they say, in the things they do for each other, in how they treat each other – it’s a promise born of a deep, true love that only gets stronger by the day.

And that’s one promise he knows they’ll never break. 

* * *

  
_Christmas 1992_

El can’t stop twisting the promise ring on the third finger of her right hand, the ring that Mike gave her for Christmas 5 years ago… the one she hasn’t taken off since. Most of the time, the ring’s a physical reminder of the commitment she and Mike have been making to each other every day for the past 9 years, through the good times and the bad times and everything in between.

But, sometimes, when she’s anxious or nervous, the promise ring serves as a literal touchstone and she often twists it around her finger as an outlet for that energy. Which is what she’s doing right now and, honestly, El’s not entirely sure why.

Most of the time, when she feels like this, El at least knows _why._ But, this time, she’s not sure.

Part of her thinks that it may be because this is the first year that Christmas is just going to be her and Mike in their apartment in Chicago. Though they’ve been living together for the past 4 years – Mike going to college at Northwestern for a dual degree in Engineering and English, El going to JC to get her Associate’s in Library Science and a job at the public library – they’ve never actually spent the holidays alone. For the past few years, they’ve gone back to Hawkins to spend time with their families. But, with Hop and Joyce going up to New York to visit Nancy, Jonathan, and their new baby _and_ with Mike’s parents going down to Florida with Holly to see Mike’s grandparents over Christmas, this has left Mike and El faced with spending their first Christmas alone.

Which, no pressure or anything. El knows how much Mike _loves_ Christmas and she wants to make it as perfect for him as possible. And, to be honest, she’s come to love the holiday almost as much as Mike has. She loves the lights and the ornaments and the tree and the warm fuzzy feelings of being surrounded by people she loves and getting them presents that make their faces light up like the Christmas tree nearby. 

So, honestly, it would make sense that El’s a little nervous about making sure that their first Christmas alone is the best ever, considering how much they both love the holiday.

But something tells her that’s not what’s going on. Her and Mike have been having a _blast_ getting everything set up for the holidays – buying a Christmas tree, decorating their apartment, figuring out what they want to make for Christmas dinner. When she thinks about doing Christmas with just Mike, it just makes her excited, not nervous.

So _what_ is triggering this feeling that there’s something she needs to be anxious about? She’s starting to rub the skin at the base of her finger raw with all the ring twisting. At this point, El would just like to figure out what’s going on so she has an explanation for it. 

It helps, if only a little, that she’s bustling around the kitchen, trying to make sure everything is set up for Christmas Eve dinner. It at least gives her another outlet for her nervous energy than rubbing the skin off her finger. 

Mike’s out grabbing a couple of last minute things for dinner, so it’s just her in their 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment, the place they’ve carved out as a space just for them. It’s her favorite place in the entire world, a place where they don’t have to worry about if anyone’s watching, where they can be schmoopy and handsy and in love without anyone rolling their eyes or groaning. El loves the freedom the apartment affords them. She loves laughing and giggling while they cook together in the kitchen, or making love on the couch whenever the mood strikes, or snuggling in bed at the end of a long day. 

El’s poured her heart and soul into this apartment and decorating for Christmas is no exception. There’s lights and garland and a tree all decked out in the family room. Dinner is pretty much cooked – beef bourguignon with a side salad and a chocolate tart for dessert – and all that it needs is the French bread Mike’s heading out to grab before the store closes, so El is just putting the final touches on the living room picnic they’re going to have to eat it. And she’s all dressed for dinner, comfy yet pretty, in a long-sleeved, dark red dress that drapes around her hips and thighs in a way she knows Mike loves. 

Like he was summoned by her thinking about him, the sound of keys jangling in the lock at the front door echoes in the apartment and the door opens moments later. “Hey, I’m back!” Mike calls out. “And I’m not going back out, no matter what else we need. It’s a madhouse out there.”

His voice gets louder as he walks towards the kitchen and El glances over her shoulder from where she’s starting to plate dinner just as he walks in. “As long as you got bread, we’re good,” she says, though she can tell from the bag he’s carrying that bread isn’t all Mike grabbed while he was out. 

“Then we’re good,” Mike says as he comes up behind her and sets the bag on the counter nearby. “You look beautiful as always, by the way.” He reaches for her and El feels his arms wrap around her waist to hold her close. His body hovers over her, curling in towards her, and he leans down to press a soft kiss to the corner of her jaw.

El shivers, partly from the kiss, but also from the lingering winter chill clinging to his coat. Still, she leans back against him. “Thank you,” she says, soft and tender. “Why don’t you go put your jacket away and help me carry everything out.”

“In a sec.” Mike presses one more kiss against her skin before he goes to unpack the paper grocery bag.

El watches out of the corner of her eye as Mike first pulls out a loaf of French bread, followed soon after by a bottle of champagne. An eyebrow arches at the sight. “Champagne?” El asks, wiping her hands off on a kitchen towel as she turns around to look at him. 

Mike shrugs, trying to look casual, but she can tell from the way he won’t entirely meet her gaze that there’s something he doesn’t want her to know. “Oh, you know, since it’s our first Christmas on our own together, I wanted to make it a really good one.”

Yeah, there’s _really_ something Mike’s hiding. But she knows him now – when he’s ready, he’ll tell her. “Ooh, sounds fancy,” El says, smiling gently. “Put it in the fridge so it can stay cold and then go get ready for dinner.”

Mike grins at her. “You think I need to change? Since you look so fancy and all.”

Giggling, El gives Mike a quick once over. Beneath his winter coat, he’s wearing a soft dark grey sweater and a pair of fitted jeans, pretty much one of her favorite outfits on him. “No, you look perfect.” El grins and reaches out to give him a gentle, playful shove. “Now, go hurry and put things away. I’m hungry.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mike says with a snicker, turning to go do her bidding. 

It’s not long until they’re both settled in the living room for Christmas Eve dinner, their coffee table serving as their dining table as they sit sprawled out on a thick flannel sheet serving as a picnic blanket. There are candles lit around the living room, the warm light blending beautifully with the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. The only way it could be more perfect is if they had a roaring fire to go along with it, but that would require a fireplace and apartments generally don’t come with one of those.

Still, El’s warm enough, legs gently tangled with Mike’s, the two of them practically sitting on top of each other as they eat the dinner El’s made special for today. And with the soft, low lights, the atmosphere feels nothing short of romantic. Mike keeps looking over at her with awe writ large in his gaze and El doesn’t think she’s ever felt more cherished in her entire life.

“This was delicious,” Mike says as they wrap up dinner. “I think you outdid yourself.”

El lets out a wry giggle, shrugging one shoulder as they start gathering up dinner plates. “Thanks, I’m hoping it’s how it’s supposed to taste. I’ve never had this before, so I have nothing to compare it to.”

“Well, I loved it.” Mike pauses in what he’s doing, sitting on his knees while he stacks the plates so he can carry them in one trip, to lean over and give her a quick kiss. “You’re amazing.”

A blush rises up onto El’s cheeks, heart feeling all weak and fluttery. “Oh, stop it,” she says as she gets to her feet. “Come on, you charmer. Let’s go serve dessert.”

Mike’s eyes light up. “Oh, and the champagne! It’s still in the fridge.” The energy in Mike’s voice is almost too much, just a touch shy of manic, and it catches El off guard a little.

“Well, can’t forget that,” El says with a teasing grin, speaking through a barely contained giggle. As they move into the kitchen, bringing in the dishes from dinner, El can’t help but notice that, beneath the excitement that almost has Mike bouncing off the walls, there’s a nervous thread running through it. His shoulders are a little too tense, eyes a little too frantic. El doesn’t think she’s ever seen him like this, except for maybe the day before his first day at Northwestern, and she wonders what in the hell is going on with him.

They set down the dishes by the sink and, as Mike goes over to the fridge to get the champagne, El follows, reaching for him with a hand at his elbow. “Hey, you ok?”

Mike pauses, turning to look at her. “Why?” he blurts out, a little too fast. “Um, I mean, why do you ask?”

El arches an eyebrow. “Because of _that._ You’re acting really jumpy. I’m just… a little worried. I know Christmas is usually spent with your family and you’re not with them this year, so I’d understand if this hasn’t lived up to–”

The rest of El’s sentence is cut off as Mike leans over and kisses her, his mouth on hers before she can even blink. A gasp bubbles out of her, lips parting in surprise, and Mike takes advantage of the opportunity to deepen the kiss, tongue darting out to trace along the fullness of lower lip before sweeping into her mouth. It’s like he’s trying to devour her and El finds herself responding in kind, pushing up into the kiss as a firestorm washes over her. It doesn’t matter how many times he kisses her like this, it catches her off guard every time just how much passion he can inspire in her, how the glide of his mouth against hers can make her stomach swoop and heart race furiously in her chest.

Mike’s hands come up to slide into her hair, tipping her face up even further as he leans over her. El curves up into him, back arching so as not to break the kiss, causing their chests to brush against each other’s with each breath. She loves this feeling, being consumed by him, and she’s not sure _what_ inspired it, but she never wants it to stop.

But it does. Mike breaks the kiss, causing _both_ of them to gasp this time, and El feels dazed as she looks up at him, brain struggling through the passionate haze that surrounds her to figure out _what’s_ going on with him.

(Not that she’s overly complaining or anything, because she will _never_ say no to being kissed like he can’t live without her, like she’s the only woman in the entire world. Honestly, who would complain about being on the receiving end of that kind of passion from the person they love?)

“This Christmas is perfect,” Mike says, voice thick and raspy. _“You’re_ my family, the only one I need.”

Oh, her heart feels too full and she swallows thickly, emotion welling up inside of her. “I love you,” she says, the words barely above a whisper. El’s trying not to cry, but it feels like a near thing. 

“I love you, too,” Mike murmurs. He presses one more kiss to her lips, this one whisper light. “Come on, I’ll open the champagne if you get the dessert. “

“Deal,” El says with a watery laugh. There’s a moment where Mike almost can’t figure out how to open the champagne, but he manages to get it while El finishes portioning out the chocolate tart. She passes him a plate and he hands her a glass and, together, they head back out to their living room picnic for dessert and champagne. 

The combination of chocolate and wine is a potent one and it makes El feel warm, happy, and a little floaty. And, as they’re finishing up dessert, Mike gets up to his feet, legs unfolding beneath him with a grace it’s taken him years to achieve. “Where are you going?” El asks, gaze tracking his movements, unable to look away and unwilling to try.

Mike throws her a grin over his shoulder. “To get the rest of the bottle of champagne.” He licks his lips and El’s own lips purse just slightly. That’s one of his nervous tics – what’s he got to be nervous about? “Be right back.” Mike turns back quickly to disappear into the kitchen and El keeps watching the spot where she last saw him. Maybe _this_ is what’s been causing the nervousness and anxiety to swell inside of her, like she’s picking up on whatever Mike is going through.

Before El can dwell on that for too much longer – mostly trying to figure out _why_ Mike is nervous – Mike himself pops back into the room, bottle of champagne in hand. He smiles at her as he sits back down on the floor and his hands shake just a little as he tops off their glasses with champagne.

El’s just about decided that enough is enough – she’s _going_ to figure out what’s going on with him, come hell or high water – but before she can even so much as open her mouth to speak, Mike beats her to the punch. “Ok, so, I know it’s traditional to make a toast or a speech when you have the first glass, not the second, but I figure we’ve never really done anything ‘traditionally’, so why start now, right?”

El breathes out a laugh. “We make our own rules.”

“Exactly,” Mike says, echoing her laugh with one of his own. He reaches for her, hands grabbing hers to entwine their fingers together, and the way he looks at her makes everything seem to stop. Part of El notices that Mike mentioned making a toast, but that neither of them are holding their champagne glasses. But the rest of her is too busy staring back at him.

Mike’s looking at her like she’s the most amazing woman in the world, like he can’t believe that she’s here with him. There’s awe and wonder and love, so much love, in his gaze that El almost can’t take it all in. She’s keenly aware of their joined hands resting on both of their laps, their legs folded in between them with knees and shins touching.

Mike opens his mouth a couple of times, like he’s trying to get the words out, but he sighs after a moment, shoulders almost slumping. “When I met you,” he finally starts, voice soft and tender. “You completely redefined what ‘happiness’ meant for me. In fact, I don’t think my life really began until you came into it. You make everything more magical just by being you and by loving me and being here with me every day. And when it occurred to me that we were going to have Christmas to ourselves this year, I knew there was no better time to do this.”

El thinks she may have forgotten how to breathe, how to think. _Is this… is he…?_ One of his hands untangles from her and reaches behind the leg of the coffee table, returning a second later with a small box clutched in his fingers. 

El gulps and watches as Mike opens it one-handed, the other not leaving hers for a second, and her breath well and truly catches in her chest when she sees what’s inside: a ring, white gold with a single diamond, nestled gently in the velvet. She feels tears start to prickle at the corners of her eyes, her heart racing overtime as the full weight of what’s happening settles over her.

“El, will you marry me and continue to make me the happiest man in the world?”

For a split second that lasts an eternity, El just stares at Mike, drinking in the sight of him. She takes in the nervous hope in his gaze, the light flush on his cheeks, the way he’s looking back at her trying to figure out what she’s going to say. But, most of all, she’s _drowning_ in the love she feels coming from him, in the words he just said, in the spoken knowledge that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her… 

_That he wants to marry her._

Of course she’s going to say… “Yes!” The word escapes her in an excited whisper before El’s even fully aware that her mouth is moving.

Mike looks at her, excitement starting to dawn on his face as his brow relaxes and his lips curl up in a smile. “Yes?”

“Yes, of course I’ll marry you!” El launches herself at him, forcing Mike to drop the ring next to him as he wraps his arms around her to keep her from falling off of his lap, but El doesn’t really care about any of that as she kisses him, falling into him as easy as breathing. Happiness explodes inside of her, sparkling in her veins like the champagne she’s been drinking, and El’s convinced she’s mere seconds away from floating away entirely. No power on this earth can contain her now and El never wants to come back down to the ground.

Mike returns her kisses eagerly, the two of them smiling against each other’s lips as El kisses him, as she kisses _her fiancé._ Oh god, she’s going to marry this wonderful, beautiful man and it’s all she’s ever wanted, she _swears._

El pulls back a few moments later and rests her forehead against Mike’s, breathing him in. “I love you, so much.”

“There aren’t enough words for how much I love you,” Mike all but whispers back. “But, before I forget….” He unwraps one arm from around her waist and reaches for the ring box he dropped next to him. “I have something to put on you.”

A giddy thrill runs through El, causing her to giggle as she rearranges herself so that she’s sitting on Mike’s folded knees, one leg on either side of him so she can easily balance herself on his lap. El watches as Mike takes the ring out of the box and she holds out her left hand so he can slide it onto her finger. “It’s beautiful,” El says, hushed, as she stares at it.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Mike says, earnest in a way that El sometimes has difficulty believing. How she could have ever gotten so lucky to have this wonderful man in her life, El doesn’t know.

Sighing, El looks up at him, hands coming up to clasp loosely behind his neck. “We’re gonna get married,” she says.

The smile on Mike’s face is the widest El’s ever seen and it makes her heart so happy to see it. “We are. You’re never getting rid of me, Hopper.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Wheeler,” El teases back, smiling uncontrollably. God, how is it possible to be _this_ happy? El sighs, overwhelmed at everything she’s feeling, at how perfect this moment is – gently surrounded by the lights of the Christmas tree, holding him close as he holds her just as tight, together and happy. 

El doesn’t know how Mike manages to always make Christmas so special, but she thinks he’s going to have a hard time outdoing himself in the years to come after this. But, no matter what, El’s secure in the knowledge that every Christmas from here on out is _always_ going to be spent with him and it’s all she’s ever wanted. 

“Merry Christmas, Mike.” she says as she starts to lean in, unable to bear the thought of not kissing him a moment longer.

“Merry Christmas, El,” Mike says right before their lips meet and words no longer become necessary as they lose themselves in each other, in the simple magic of being together.

10 years ago, she had no idea this level of happiness ever could have existed and, now, she gets to experience it every day thanks to the man in front of her, the man she never, _ever_ wants to let go of. 

And, for the rest of her life, she never, _ever_ will. 


End file.
